Personal communications systems (PCS) devices are based on mobile phone or cellular phone system devices. Mobile or cellular phone devices are currently configured to communicate with one of a plurality of permanently placed ground antennas, which, in turn, are connected to the telephone system: both to standard wired telephones and to other mobile or cellular telephone devices via other such ground antennas. The original cellular phone devices communicated via analog data signals. However, newer cellular phone devices communicate via digital data signals. In either case, there is a direct link between the telephone communications network and the cellular telephone.
Further capabilities are being added to the digital cellular phone devices. For example, digital cellular phone devices are being enhanced to enable them to receive digital data from and transmit digital data to a digital data network, such as the Internet, with which the telephone system is interconnected. Such devices have been termed personal communications systems (PCS) devices. Such enhanced PCS devices can request, receive and display information from the internet such as, for instance: maps, touring information, information on special events, and/or shops or restaurants near the current location of the user. As time goes on further capabilities will be added to digital PCS devices which may involve providing for reception and display of multimedia files such as audio and/or video files.
One problem with such enhanced capabilities is the bandwidth required to transmit the large volume of data associated with such enhanced capabilities from the digital data servers interconnected with the internet to the PCS devices via the direct link. The current cellular phone system uses relatively low bandwidth signaling techniques: on the order of tens of kilobits per second. However, graphical information such as maps and pictures require relatively wide bandwidth to provide reasonable response times. Video and audio files will require even higher bandwidth for reasonable response times. In other words, using the relatively low bandwidth of the current cellular telephone system will require long periods of time to transfer such large amounts of data. These periods of time may be so long as to make the performance unacceptable. Additionally, with the precious spectrum resources, the cost of bandwidth on these networks is relatively high.
Current television signal broadcasting systems provide relatively wide bandwidth capability: approximately 20 Mbps of data throughput for each 6 MHz channel. Terrestrial VHF/UHF frequency bands in the United States include almost 400 MHz of available channels. These channels are receivable in the locale (approximately 70 miles) of the terrestrial television broadcasting station antenna. In addition, current digital direct satellite television broadcasting systems also can provide digital channels which can be used for digital information transmission. Digital data from these channels are receivable over a much wider area: the complete United States, for instance. These channels are not completely used. Thus, there is a vast amount of unused television broadcast spectrum available for other uses.
Some data which will be requested by a user of a PCS device will be unique to that user. For example, a user may request a particular piece of information of interest to that user alone. However, other data will be of simultaneous interest to a large number of users: for example, current weather data, stock market tickers, television or radio program guides, electronic newspapers etc. Yet other information will be of widespread simultaneous interest at only certain times, and of interest only to unique users are other times: for example, traffic maps at rush hour, information related to special events and nearby restaurants and hotels near the time and in the geographical area of the special event; and IRS tax forms and information around tax filing time.
Current bandwidth for cellular phone devices is sufficient to provide unique information to PCS devices as such information is requested. Attempting, however, to provide information of simultaneous widespread interest (e.g. traffic maps) to large numbers of PCS devices at the same time can rapidly use up all available bandwidth of the current PCS system. A PCS communications system which can provide unique information to single requesting PCS devices, and also information of widespread interest simultaneously to large numbers of requesting PCS devices, without overloading available bandwidth of the cellular phone network is desirable.